Simón Gómez Gallego

Praised by the Chicago Tribune as “consistently impressive,” Simón Gómez Gallego is an active percussionist, timpanist, and educator. He currently serves as Acting Principal Timpanist of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra for the 2025–2026 season. He performs frequently as Guest Principal Timpanist and Percussionist with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Grant Park Orchestra, and has also appeared with the Atlanta, Detroit, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Chautauqua, and Charlotte Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Houston Symphony.

Highlights of the 2025–2026 season include guest principal engagements with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, in addition to performances as a percussionist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic and the Joffrey Ballet.

In addition to his guest and acting principal work, Simón holds positions as Principal Timpanist of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and Rockford Symphony Orchestra. He is also a percussionist with the Chicago Philharmonic Society. As an educator, he serves as a chamber music coach for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and is on the faculty of the Chicago Scholarship Program of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and The People’s Music School. He also maintains an active private studio.

Previously, Simón held positions as Assistant Principal Percussionist of the Florida Grand Opera, Principal Percussionist of the Battle Creek Symphony (MI) and Rockford Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Timpanist of the West Michigan Symphony.

Born in Medellín, Colombia, Simón began his musical studies at the Instituto Musical Diego Echavarría. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Miami and a Post-Master’s Certificate in Percussion Performance from DePaul University. He was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and a Civic Fellow from 2014 to 2016. He also attended the Aspen Music Festival and School for five summers, receiving the Charlie Owen Fellowship in 2011 and the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen Timpani Fellowship in 2012.

His principal teachers and coaches include David Herbert, Matthew Strauss, Marc Damoulakis, Eric Millstein, Vadim Karpinos, Svet Stoyanov, Ney Rosauro, Ted Atkatz, and Alexander Ziborov. Simón is endorsed by Sabian Cymbals.